ROCHESTER — At a Personnel Committee meeting Tuesday night, approximately 20 people, largely school district staff, crowded into the meeting room to hear about proposed layoffs.

Last week, at a special budget meeting with the Rochester School Board, Superintendent Michael Hopkins proposed that to meet next year’s tax cap the schools would have to cut 24 positions from across the district to save $1.6 million. The district says they are going through a “perfect storm” with an increase in retirement plans as well as health and dental insurance rate increases on the horizon.

As several reading specialists sat in the room — six have been proposed for cuts at all but two of the elementary schools — Hopkins said these were not easy decisions to make, and the list was created in consultation with school principals and managements teams.

A psychologist and two school pathologists have been proposed to be cut at the district level, along with a teacher from Bud Carlson Academy and music and world language teachers from Rochester Middle School, to name a few.

Hopkins said the English, math, science and Spanish teacher each proposed to be cut from the Spaulding High School community would not effect current jobs most likely, with retirements going into place, and the proposed cutting of an assistant principal, to bring in $93,076, could be replaced by a person assuming the role similar to that of the intervention specialist at the middle school, who specializes in bullying and behavioral issues.

All three reading specialists from the McClelland Elementary School attended the meeting, stating the plan to replace two paraprofessionals with each cut specialist would stress the system further.

“I really caution you,” Barbara Kelly said. “You are taking your most qualified and getting rid of them, putting your least qualified with your most needy kids, and that is very difficult.”

Chairman of the Committee Audrey Stevens requested the next meeting be canceled for the Personnel Committee, to allow more time for discussion. Board members also requested a proposal for what sort of revenue could be generated from private advertising on school grounds and district buses.

After the Personnel Committee meeting, the Building Committee met next. Board members went through the budget stating they were trying to find $1.6 million to cut, to avoid laying off teachers.

“None of these cuts are good and I can’t look at a single one and think they shouldn’t be here,” member Karen Stokes added.

When the facilities department proposed the addition of a truck to replace a 1995 vehicle, with more than 110,000 miles on it, board member Anthony Pastelis said he couldn’t see doing that, given the current state of affairs. The committee accepted his motion to deny the purchase in the budget.

“One of my colleagues just called this a perfect storm so if it looks like I’m looking for nickels and dimes, I am,” he said.

Stevens also proposed kicking their proposed budget over to the City Council for its review, to which Rochester resident Robert Gates told the board they should take a stronger leading role.

“My suggestion would be, ‘Let’s get some leadership on this board…,’” Gates said. “And if you’re unwilling to do that, resign.”

Stevens said she made the suggestion because in years past, when the school made budget cuts, she claimed the city “took advantage” of the room in the city budget.

“They took advantage of that money that we were able to cover and I say now it may be time for them to cover us,” she said.

Board member Matt Pappas suggested a solution to raising more money could be consolidating schools, to which officials requested Hopkins draft up more ideas. He also pointed to a $15,000 budget line item for postage, to which the board said they could discuss further at the next Instruction Committee meeting.

The building budget was motioned on to the Finance Committee for review, and that committee will meet Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the regular board meeting room.